2013 Audi A6 problems & reliability
52 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2013 Audi A6, alongside 6 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
2 complaints report injuries (2 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2013 Audi A6 vehicles were involved in 9 fatal crashes with 4 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bags → | 18 | 35% |
| Engine → | 15 | 29% |
| Unknown OR Other | 8 | 15% |
| Electrical System | 7 | 13% |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 7 | 13% |
| Steering | 7 | 13% |
| Seats | 3 | 6% |
| Power Train | 2 | 4% |
| Service Brakes | 2 | 4% |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 1 | 2% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 64,634 miles (middle 50% between 32,350 and 76,400 miles), based on 24 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“When the turn signal is activated to go RIGHT, the turn indicator flashes LEFT (both the arrow on the instrument panel and the exterior lights). Since the driver is not consciously looking at the dash, this causes an unexpected lane change and dangerous (and illegal) lane change. There are no warning lights that there…”
Exterior Lighting · filed Nov 19, 2025
“It was recently began to leak fuel from the top of the engine close to the windshield. Then the whole cabin specially in the front where the steering wheel began to have bad vibration during reversed, and idle, also when the ac is on. Then theres the airbag for the passenger, the light is on, it used to say '"off"…”
Engine · filed Sep 28, 2025
“The contact owns a 2013 Audi A6 equipped with Kumho Tires, Tire Line: Solus Majesty, Tire Size: 245/45/VR18, DOT Number: 127W2YCJ9. The contact stated that the vehicle had been taken for maintenance and the independent mechanic observed that the driver's and passenger’s side front tires tread was separating from the…”
Tires · filed Nov 12, 2024
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
1,653 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2013 Audi A6. The 10 most recent:
This bulletin provides a statement regarding the bottleneck of supply for VW approved oil types VW 504.00 and VW 507.00.
TSB_2082846_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 27, 2026
This bulletin provides information when there is a film/visible rings on the clear glass cover of the headlight when the dipped beam is switched on.
TSB_2073282_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 9, 2026
This special notice is to inform dealers to return the parts listed if it meets the criteria provided.
SM 01-2026 · Other · issued Jul 9, 2026
This bulletin provides infomraiotn when there is a gearbox malfunction message in the instrument clostuer; DTC P0706; vehicles with 0AW gearbox.
TSB_2034863_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 2, 2026
This bulletin provides information when there are noises from the area around the instrument cluster.
TSB_2059335_7 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
This bulleitn procides informaiton when tehre is a transmission warning mssage in the instrument cluster; P074100 is stored in the TCM.
TSB_2028985_13 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
This bulletin provides informaiton when the transmission warning message appears in the cluster; P074100 stored in the TCM.
TSB_2028902_5 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
This bulletin provides informationwhen noises/vibration are detected from front of vehicle in dynamic mode.
TSB_2074729_3 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 23, 2026
This bulletin provides information when there is a strong jolt after engine automatically starts in start-stop mode; vehicles with 0BK & 0BL Gearbox.
TSB_2082046_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 22, 2026
This bulletin provides informaiton when the engine is not running smoothly, misfiring.
TSB_2082323_1 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 10, 2026
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 2013 Audi A6 has 6 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 2013 Audi A6?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 64,634 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.